


The Mission

by crystalfox



Series: Dovetail [14]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: AU, Adventure, Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-03 23:20:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14579841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crystalfox/pseuds/crystalfox
Summary: There are rumours about high-ranking Imperial officials hiding on an Outer Rim planet, Luke and Lando investigate.





	The Mission

The Empire had fallen but the work was just beginning. There had been a flurry of activity following the destruction of the second Death Star and the members of the Rebel Alliance had barely been able to stop and catch their breath. Most of the surviving Imperials had been arrested but some had escaped. Rumours abounded about supposed sightings of a handful of Imperial officials, the majority turned out to be false or not worth following up. But one particular rumour seemed as though it could prove fruitful.

Lando and Luke volunteered to investigate, their names may have been famous but, thankfully, there had been few holos of them released, so they were able to travel unnoticed. They had been contacted by the captain of a ship who had been passing through a small, mining town on an Outer Rim planet, informing them of some suspicious activity and unusual people. He had identified two men from Empire holos that the Rebels had acquired. They had been hanging around, waiting for someone who would be able to take them to a different star system. Most pilots landing in the town had been going in the other direction and, so far, they had been stuck there. However, their informant told them that there were two smugglers who had, in the past, boasted about helping Imperial officers and would most likely take the job.

It was a bleak place, ravaged by almost constant sandstorms which gave the air a strange orange haze. Dusty and hot, it reminded Luke vaguely of Tatooine but not in a good way. The harsh weather forced them to wear goggles and battered, hooded flight jackets in order to stop the sand from covering them. Luke and Lando strolled as inconspicuously as possible, trailing the two smugglers as they weaved their way through the busy crowds.

Leaning close to Lando, Luke spoke quietly, "We're gonna need a way to get close to them, to try and eavesdrop."

"Yeah, hopefully, they'll head into a cantina or something. Then we can sit near them."

"They look jumpy though, they keep looking around nervously. We'll need to be careful. They can't know we're listening."

Lando's mouth twitched, clearly he'd just had an idea, "This is a bit unconventional....but we could....kiss. Nothing says oblivious to their surroundings like a couple making out."

Luke smiled, reaching down to take Lando's hand, "That sounds like a _very_ good plan."

Lando gave a brief laugh and squeezed Luke's hand gently.

Ever since their first kiss on Endor, they had spent every brief moment together - kissing, talking, enjoying each other's company. But, they had been so busy and exhausted in the aftermath of the destruction of the Empire that they hadn't had the time or the energy to do anything else or discuss what this _thing_ between them was. There was an unspoken agreement that when everything calmed down a bit, they would finally get the chance to do so, and until then, well, they were just happy to grab the chance for a kiss whenever they could. Luke was pleased that this mission was going to include that. He was focused, of course, on capturing the Imperials but that didn't mean that he and Lando couldn't have a tiny bit of fun while doing so.

The smugglers were entering a cantina and Luke and Lando followed them into the dingy, dimly lit bar. They had ordered drinks and were carrying them to the back of the large room, where they settled into a shadowy booth. Following suit, Luke and Lando pulled off their goggles and undid their jackets as they slid into the booth next to them. It wasn't too loud in the cantina, and if they concentrated, they could hear the smugglers talking fairly easily.

Luke frowned, he didn't recognise the language they were speaking. He looked curiously at Lando, quirking an eyebrow, the unspoken question being - _Do you understand them?_

Lando gave a tiny nod and a half-smile, as he shifted a bit closer along the seat, parallel to where the smugglers were sitting, so that he could hear better. The smugglers paused in their conversation, glancing at them suspiciously. But, as Luke shuffled closer to Lando, running one hand up his chest, and leaning in to kiss him, the two smugglers seemed content that the two men in the booth were just an amorous couple who were not interested in their conversation and they continued with what they were saying.

Since Luke couldn't understand their language, he relaxed into the kiss, closing his eyes and pressing his body close to Lando's, practically crawling into his lap. This was probably a little _too_ over the top but they were _supposed_ to be oblivious to their surroundings and Lando seemed to have no problem with this because his hands had crept under Luke's shirt and he'd thrown one leg over Luke's. If they weren't in a dark area of the cantina and if they weren't being ignored by everyone, then they might have felt embarrassed, because this wasn't the way they normally behaved in public but no-one was looking, so they didn't care. Besides, this mission was a reunion of sorts, they had been apart for a few days prior and it was clear they had missed each other. So, it was no surprise to Luke that he couldn't quite contain his feelings, the few days they had been apart felt long and he had yearned to be close to Lando.

In fact, Luke had become so distracted by the kissing that he hadn't noticed that the smugglers had left. It was Lando pulling away with an amused half-smile that informed him that they had departed.

"As much as I'm enjoying this, which is _a lot,_ they have gone." Lando murmured, placing a kiss to Luke's forehead.

"Sorry, kinda....lost track of things there." Luke muttered, wrapping one arm around Lando's shoulders. "Did you find out anything interesting?"

"Yeah, they're meeting with two Imperials tomorrow, they're going to up the price of the transport to really fleece them but they are going to help them get off the planet."

Luke nodded, "Did they say where?"

"Yup. A shipyard, 10am. Not sure where this place is but I got the name so I'm sure we can find it. This town isn't exactly very big."

"Well done. Sorry again that I wasn't much help...."

Lando laughed, "Gotta say, I was almost unable to concentrate at some points too." He paused, grinning for a moment, before looking more earnest. "I missed you."

Cupping Lando's face in his free hand, Luke rested his forehead against the other man's, "I missed you too. So much."

"You'd think we'd been apart for years, not six days."

"Felt like longer."

"Yeah."

They sat, embracing, in comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"So what language were they speaking?"

"Ezdesh. It's mostly used in the Mid-Rim so they probably assumed no-one around here speaks it. I lived on a planet for a while where it was the main language." He said it casually, as if everyone lives on random planets and picks up entire languages.

"Ah." Luke didn't know what to say, sometimes the fact that Lando had had so many adventures and had travelled across the galaxy was intimidating. Luke knew Lando wasn’t boasting, he was just good at languages and had, so far, lived a fairly varied life. It was a far cry from farming on Tatooine but Luke reminded himself that he too had interesting skills and, while he hadn’t travelled quite as much as Lando, he had seen more of the galaxy than he ever thought he would have. 

“So, the plan?” Lando interrupted his thoughts. 

“Well, we should probably call for back up. Get those two pilots arrested, and then meet the officers in their place?”

“Sounds good.” Lando pulled out his comms device and put in a request for some extra help. 

——— 

They waited in the shadows of the shipyard, goggles on and hoods up, looking for the Imperial officers. The place was nearly empty, a couple of ships and a handful of pilots. Before long, it was just Luke and Lando. 

“Kriff, maybe they got scared?”

“Maybe.” Luke replied, disappointed. “Do you think we should give up?”

“Let’s wait a little longer. Like....five more minutes. They could just be very cautious.”

“Ok.”

And Lando was right, a couple of minutes later, two extremely paranoid looking men wandered into the yard. They glanced around at the various ships and then spotted one that apparently looked familiar, they muttered to each other as they headed towards it. 

Lando leaned close to Luke, “They’ll be armed, as soon as you see weapons, if you use the Force to get them, I’ll make sure to keep my blaster trained on them.”

“Got it.”

They moved quickly, darting out of their hiding place and across the yard to where the officers were standing. 

“You’re under arrest on behalf of the New Republic.”

The men turned around, stunned, colour draining from their faces, pulling out their weapons. But Luke and Lando were in sync. Their weapons were wrenched from their hands by Luke via the Force and Lando held his blaster confidently at them. 

“Hands out in front.” Lando demanded, producing two cuffs from underneath his cape, which he secured tightly around both the men’s wrists. 

Luke and Lando kept their expressions serious but they did manage to sneak a quick smile to each other, a silent congratulation on a mission well done. 

———

 As they watched the Imperials being taken away by members of the hastily assembled New Republic, Luke nudged Lando with his shoulder.

“You’re good at this, you could be a spy.”

“Maybe I was once....” Lando gave him a sidelong glance, a wistful tone to his voice.

“Really?” Luke asked, incredulous. 

“No. I bet it’s fun though.”

“Dangerous too.”

“Well, all the best fun always has a hint of danger too it.” 

“That’s true.” Luke smiled at Lando, wondering how it was possible to feel so content, in that moment, despite what he’d been through. Vader, the war, all the death and destruction - it felt so far away.

Lando shifted away slightly, turning so he faced Luke, scratching the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. 

“I wanted to say....that is, if you’re interested, and it’s ok if you’re not....would...” Lando stopped, looking deep into Luke’s eyes. “I’d like to spend more time with you, just us together. No missions or work. Just you and me?” 

“Yes.” Luke replied eagerly. “I’d like that. A lot.”

“Yeah?” A pleased smile appeared on Lando’s face.

“Yeah. What, you couldn’t tell I wanted to spend more time with you from that kiss in the cantina?” 

“Well...” Lando smirked now. “I guessed that you would possibly be open to it but I didn’t want to presume....”

Luke cut him off, pressing a kiss to Lando’s lips, it was gentle but firm and full of promise. 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback/constructive criticism/comments welcome!


End file.
